Covid-19: Assam taking quarantine centres to village, ward levels

GUWAHATI: Assam government is taking quarantine centres right till village and ward levels to accommodate every returning citizens of the state from outside at their native places.
The state government has prepared a three-tier arrangement for setting up quarantine facilities, starting with quarantine centres at district headquarter level followed by centres at the assembly constituency level and finally centres in village and ward level.
The health department has issued an order initiating formation of Village Level Home Quarantine Management Committee in rural areas by the respective block development officer, with the gaon panchayat president as the chairperson. Similarly Ward Level Home Quarantine Management Committee in urban areas will be notified by the respective Deputy Commissioner with circle officer or assistant commissioner as the chairperson.
Each committee will decide whether the returnee “will be quarantined in his or her residence or the local community centre, keeping in mind that in case the person stays at his residence, the same will become a containment zone for all residents of that house.”
The committee will also be responsible for providing food supplies, hygiene, security, medical arrangements etc in home and community centre where the quarantined person is residing.
For the household, which has entirely become a containment zone, “food items (as per notified government norms) for the quarantine period will be provided by district administration directly to the quarantine families or through the committee.”
At present returnees are being quarantined at five zonal centres and each centre for people belonging to demarcated districts in the zone. While those from districts of lower Assam region are being quarantined at Kokrajhar and Dhubri, those belonging to districts in central Assam are being quarantined in Guwahati and similarly Tezpur centre is for those from north Assam districts, Jorhat for those belonging to upper Assam districts and Silchar for Barak valley districts.
The Constituency Wise Quarantine Management Committee will be headed by the local MLA and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has personally written to all MLAs cutting across party lines for leading the Covid-19 fight in their respective areas.
The constituency level committees will prepare institutional quarantine centres in the constituency area which may be spread in various blocks and villages and will also manage food supplies, hygiene, security, medical arrangements etc. in facility quarantine